By BAGEHOT
THE political ramifications of the attacks in Paris are just simply beginning to unfurl. But there are early signs that one may be the spedup development of (ultimately unavoidable) divides in the Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn’s reaction to the occurring disputes has sealed the impression—as if any cement were required—that Labour’s newish leader is out of his depth, ambivalent about things that needto be clear and craven to the unsightly mix of sanctimony and ethical relativism whose unexpected transition through his celebration moved him to its management in September. Mr Corbyn’s persistence that his MPs will not get a complimentary vote on British intervention in Syria, his preliminary opposition (since reversed) to the usage of deadly force in scenarios like that in Paris and his distance to the anti-West Stop the War group have fired up MPs who were formerly enduring him, or at least biding their time before he fell.
Last night’s conference of the Parliamentary Labour Party was, by all accounts, a rebarbative affair in which Mr Corbyn offered unclear and unacceptable responses and was at times yelled down by his MPs. As if they required any verification of the gormless narcissism now at the helm of their celebration, some were exasperated when Diane Abbott, the shadow advancement secretary and one of the coupleof MPs who actually supports her leader, began working through a stack of correspondence as dispute about Syria raved around her.
Today brought another program of defiance by the sensibles. During a sombre Commons session on the Paris attacks they increased, one-by-one, and offered voice to universalist, liberal, i